2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
My dear parishioners,
God is Good!!! All the time!!! And all the time!!! God is Good!!!
Once released from custody, Peter and John return to the community of believers and they all offer up a prayer of thanksgiving to God. After that prayer, the community boldly proclaims the word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:23–31). Next comes this passage further describing the character of the community.
Today’s Gospel focuses on three events that took place after Jesus had been raised from the dead. The first incident is Jesus appearing to his frightened disciples and granting them his peace. The second event is Jesus commissioning his disciples with the gift of the Holy Spirit empowering them to continue his work on earth. The final event is the appearance of Jesus to Thomas who was not present when Jesus first appeared to his frightened disciples. All three occurrences manifest Jesus in his new life as the risen lord.
The gift of peace. The disciples have locked themselves behind closed doors for fear that the same thing that happened to Jesus will now happen to them. Their fear is countered by Jesus suddenly appearing in their midst. No attention is given as to how Jesus did this. At first, this only increases the fear of the disciples, and they pay no attention to what Jesus says regarding peace. However, once he shows them his hands and his side, they are able to grasp the continuity between the earthly and the risen Jesus and they rejoice. They are comforted and encouraged by the gift of peace that Jesus gives them.
The commissioning with the Holy Spirit. Jesus moves quickly to his next action which is commissioning his disciples to carry on his work. He empowers the disciples to carry on this work by breathing the Holy Spirit on them. This is how God made the first human person a living being (Gen 2:7). It is how Jesus prepared his disciples for their new life’s work. They are also granted the power to forgive sins. In John’s Gospel, sin is being blind to the revelation of God manifested in Jesus.
The appearance to Thomas. Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to the frightened disciples. When they told Thomas what they had seen he was not yet convinced because he had not seen what the disciples had seen. A week later, Jesus appears to Thomas in the very same way he had appeared to the other disciples. Jesus even offers Thomas the opportunity to touch his wounded side and hands, but he does not touch Jesus at all. Instead, Thomas immediately makes a profession faith declaring Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” Thomas was no more a doubter than were the other disciples. When he saw what they had seen he was a fervent believer. Faith is always a challenge.
Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Aloysius